
rorf fi 



ff. M. KING, D. D 




6T 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Chap...rJcI\.. 

Shelf .K3:V-— '-- 

UNITED STATES OF AMEMOAiii 



UetAA., 



/?^7 



Early Baptists Defended. 
A REVIEW 

OF 

Dr. Henry M. Dexter's Account of 
THE VISIT TO WILLIAM WITTER, 

In "As to Ro(;er Williams." 



A PAPF.R READ BY REV. HE.N'RY M. KING, DD., AT THK SEMI-ANNUAL MEETING 

li 

OF THE liACKUS HISTORICAL SOCIETY, HELD IN THE BOWDOIN 
SQUARE BAPTIST CHURCH, BOSTON, DEC. 8, 1S79, AND 
PUBLISHED BY VOTE OF THE SOCIETY. 







'it 



Boston: 

HOWARD GANNETT, PUBLISHER. 

{880. 






At a meeting of the Backus Historical Society, Monday, Dec. 8, 1879, '" 
the Bovvdoin Square Church, it was unanimously voted to request the publication 
of a paper read by Rev. Henry M. King, D. D. Rev. J. Banvard, D. D., and 
the Secretary, were appointed a Committee, with the author, to carry out the 
wishes of the Society. In accordance with the instructions, the paper appears 
in the present form. 

HEMAN LINCOLN, Secretary. 



THE VISIT TO WILLIAM WITTER. 



The memorable visit of John Clarke, Obadiah Holmes and 
John Crandall, members of the Baptist Church in Newport, 
R. I. to William Witter, one of the early settlers of Lynn, 
Mass., took place in July, 1651. I propose, in this paper, to 
review the history of that visit, that we may ascertain, if 
possible, the object of it, the alleged criminal conduct of 
which these troublesome visitors were guilty, and the severity 
of the punishment which they received at the hands of the 
Puritan magistrates. 

I have undertaken this service solely in the interests of his- 
toric truth, and not, I trust, in the spirit of a partizan or a 
controversialist. A difference of opinion having recently been 
manifested in high quarters, and views put forward in opposition 
to those which had been universally held, it seems desirable 
that there should be a thorough and candid reexamination of 
the facts in the case which are accessible. When such histo- 
rians as Dr. Palfrey,^ and Dr. Dexter,- who follows him closely 

' Hist, of N. E., by John Gorliam Palfrey, D.D., LL.D. 
-As to Rogers Williams, by Henry Martyn Dexter, D.D. 



and even outstrips him in the positiveness of his convictions, 
call in question accepted opinions in matters of colonial his- 
tory, it is due that those opinions be reviewed in the light 
of all the evidence, old and new, that can be presented. 

A high regard for the many sterling qualities of our Puritan 
ancestors, and admiration and gratitude for the noble service 
which they rendered, and the inestimable benefits of which we 
are enjoying, make us desirous to judge them fairly in all things, 
and even charitably where they were undoubtedly in error. 
We certainly would not misjudge their spirit or their acts, and 
if any false judgments have come down to us, transmitted 
through ignorance or prejudice, it is high time they were aban- 
doned. On the other hand, a sacred regard for the truth of 
history should keep us from any disposition to conceal the errors 
of the Puritans or to extenuate their sins. Great and good as 
they were, they were not perfect ; and he who undertakes 
to justify all the acts of his fathers, natural or denominational, 
will find himself burdened with a grave responsibility. 

It should be remembered, indeed, that we are dealing 
with events two centuries and a quarter old, when truths now 
well developed, full grown and generally accepted, were in 
their infancy and acknowledged by few. We should be 
careful lest we unconsciously carry back to that early period 
of our history the standard of to-day, and measure events 



which occurred then, by the fuller wisdom which we now 
possess. We should be no less careful lest, forgetting the 
growth and advancement that have been made, we seek to 
bring past events into closer harmony with present views and 
wishes than the facts will warrant. The duty of the historian 
is simply to write history, not to modify it or make it appear 
different from what it is. The truth may be judged charitably; 
but the truth is history, and nothing else is. 

Let us consider, first, what was the object of the visit 
which Clarke, Holmes and Crandall, members of the Baptist 
Church in Newport, made to William Witter, a farmer residing 
in Swampscott, about two miles from Lynn proper. Backus'^ 
introduces the account of this visit with the following state- 
ment : "On July 19, 1651, Messrs. Clarke, Holmes and 
Crandal, 'being the representatives of- the church in Newport, 
upon the request of William Witter, of Lynn, arrived there, 
he being a brother in the church who, by reason of his 
advanced age, could not undertake so great a journey as to 
visit the church.' " Backus gives as his authority for this 
statement the Newport church papers, from which the state- 
ment is a quotation. Arnold^ says, in similar language, 
"They were deputed by the church to visit an aged member, 
residing near Lynn, who had requested an interview with 

= Hist. of the Baptists, Vol. I., 178. ^ Hist, of R. I., Vol. I., 234. 



some of his brethren." From these statements it appears 
that the visit was one of Christian sympathy, the pastor and 
two other members of the church, with its knowledge and 
consent, making the journey to carry comfort to the heart 
of an aged and infirm brother who, as we elsewhere" learn, 
had already been arrested twice for expressing, in the emphatic 
language of the times, his opinion against infant baptism, 
and who, deprived of the privileges of the church and of the 
sympathy of those whose faith was in accord with his own, 
had requested this interview. This view has been uniformly 
accepted as explaining the simple, religious purpose of the 
visit. We have no statement from either of the three visitors 
which sheds any further light on the matter. In the letter 
of Mr. Holmes to John Spilsbury, William Kissen'' and other 
brethren in London, incorporated by Clarke in his " 111 Newes 
from New England,"'' he says: "I came upon occasion of 
businesse into the Colony of the Mathatusets, with two other 
Brethren." If they were deputed by the church to make 
this visit, this is all the explanation the language requires ; 
this was the " occasion of businesse" which took them to Lynn. 
In opposition to the prevalent view, — a view which seems 

"Hist, of Lynn, by Lewis and Newhall. 
"Written Kiffen in Backus' Hist., Vol. I.., 1S7. 
• Mass. Histor. Coll., Vol. IL, Fourth Series. 



to be supported by incontrovertible authority, — Dr. Palfrey has 
suggested - that the visit had a very shrewd political purpose, 
and was carefully planned to that end ; that owing to local disa- 
greements in the Providence Plantations, and the supposed fear 
of Clarke and his friends that an attempt was about to be made 
to unite Newport and Portsmouth to the colonial Confederacy, or, 
possibly, to annex them to Massachusetts, it was determined to 
prevent such a union ; and this method was deliberately chosen 
to call forth an exhibition of the persecuting spirit of the author- 
ities of Massachusetts, that the breach might be widened and 
the suspected designs of those who were thought to be laboring 
for the annexation, might be frustrated. 

William Coddington, who, in 1648, was elected the second 
President of the Providence Plantations (though at this time 
certain charges were brought against him, the nature of which 
is unknown, and which he did not appear to answer), had, 
indeed, manifested a desire for a union with the Colonies. 
There is much about his conduct which is veiled in mystery. 
He was evidently a wiley, unscrupulous, ambitious man. In a 
letter of his to Winthrop,^ under date of Aug. 5, 1644, — a letter 
which Dr. Palfrey calls a " curious letter,"^*^ written, it will be 

'Hist, of N. E., Vol. II., chap. ix. 
"Mass. Archives, Vol. II., 4, 5. 
""Hist, of N. E., Vol. n., 152, note 2. 



8 

noticed, five months after the signing of the charter given to 
Roger Williams for the incorporation of the Providence Planta- 
tions, — he said: "I desire to have either such alliance with 
yourselves or Plymouth, one or both, as might be safe for us all, I 
having chief interest on this island, it being bought to me and my 
friends; and how inconvenient it might be, if it were possessed 
by an enemy, lying in the heart of the plantations, and conven- 
ient for shipping, I cannot but see ; but I want both counsel 
and strength to fiffect what I desire. I desire to hear from you, 
and that you would bury what I write in deep silence ; for 
what I write I never imparted to any, nor would to you, had I 
the least doubt of your faithfulness that it should be uttered to 
my prejudice." The intent of this letter is obvious. It was 
written about the time the knowledge of the charter to Roger 
Williams had been received in this country, and one month 
before the second meeting of the Commissioners of the four 
'Colonies. It reveals his state of mind and his ambitious pur- 
pose. At the first election of officers for the Providence Plan- 
tations, three years afterward, he received a subordinate place, 
being made Assistant from Newport. We do not know that he 
accepted the office. At the second annual Assembly it was 
ordered that those persons who refused to take public office 
should be subject to fines.^^ It seems surprising that he should 

"R. I. Rec, Vol. I., 2i8. 



have been chosen President at the second election, in spite of 
open opposition and the little prospect that he would accept 
the position ; for Mr. Jeremy Clarke was appointed " President 
Regent," and permanent provision was made for supplying the 
vacancy that might at any time occur in the PresidencyJ^ Mr. 
Coddington declined to be President of the Providence Planta- 
tions, his reason evidently being a growing alienation from the 
people of Providence and Warwick, which appears in his letter 
to Governor Winthrop, dated May 25, 1648.^'^ This was 
written nine days after the Assembly met at Providence, which 
elected him President. In September of this year he applied, 
in connection with Alexander Partridge, to the Commisioners 
of the Colonies for a union of the Island, meaning to separate it 
from Providence and Warwick, "that we, the islanders of Rhode 
Island, may be received into a combination with all the United 
Colonies of New England, into a firm and perpetual league of 
friendship and amity." ^^ The application contained the assur- 
ance that it was indorsed by "the major part of our island;" a 
statement which was proved false by subsequent events.^'^ This 
application was refused. The Commissioners were unwilling to 
recognize them as a distinct colony, — the thing which Cod- 
dington desired, — and offered them their protection only on 

"Arnold's Hist, of K. I., Vol. I., 221. "Ibid, 226. 

'3 Hutchinson's Collections, 225. ''Backus* Hist, of the Baptists, Vol. I., 221. 



10 

condition that they should place themselves under the govern- 
ment of Plymouth, — the thing which Coddington, evidently, did 
not desire, ^'^ — notwithstanding the impression of Roger Williams 
to the contrary.^' For when the opportunity was offered, Cod- 
dington declined to avail himself of it. And here the matter 
ended. Four months afterward Coddington sailed for England, 
where he remained at least two years and a half. His design 
in going to England he succeeded in keeping a profound secret. 
This is acknowledged by all.^^ The exact time of his return is a 
matter of great uncertainty.^'' It could not have been before the 
visit to Witter ; yet it must have been very soon after. When, 
however, he did return, it was found that he had succeeded, 
at the very close of his visit, in obtaining a "Commission" 
from the Council of State to institute a separate government 
over the islands of Rhode Island and Conanicut, thereby 
setting aside the patent of the Providence Plantations given to 
Roger Williams, March 14, 1644! This Commission appointed 
William Coddington Governor for life. He was to be assisted 
in the government by Councilors, "not exceeding the number 
of six," who were to be chosen annually by " such freeholders 
of Newport and Portsmouth as should be well affected to the 

'" Hutchinson's Coll., 225-227 ; Backus' Hist., Vol. I., 169. 

'■Mass. Hist. Coll., Chap, xxix., 271; Palfrey's Hist, of N. E., Vol. 11., 220. 

IS Palfrey's Hist, of N. E., Vol. II., 344; Arnold's Hist, of R. I., Vol. I., 225. 

''■'Palfrey's Hist, of N. E., Vol. II., 350; As to Roger Williams, 122, note 480. 



II 



government of the Commonwealth of England." These Coun- 
cilors, however, were to be approved by the Governor.^" 
Having accomplished his ambitious purpose after so long a 
delay, and procured a division of the Providence Plantations 
and the appointment of himself for life, as well-nigh the supreme 
ruler of Newport and Portsmouth, he arrived home possibly 
in August, 165 1. 

I have dwelt thus at length upon the conduct of Cod- 
dington, because it is supposed to furnish the probable occasion 
of the visit of the three Newport worthies to Mr. Witter, in 
which they found Massachusetts about as hot a place as a 
fiery furnace heated sevenfold. 

Dr. Palfrey says :^^ " If Massachusetts was intolerant of 
Baptists, and if the execution of Coddington's scheme would 
place the Rhode Island Baptists more or less under her 
control, the necessity of self-defense admonished them that, 
if possible, that scheme should be defeated. Clarke had 
known, for seven years, that his presence would not be 
allowed in Massachusetts.22 During that time a law had 
existed which his presence would affront. And, indeed, seven 
years earlier yet, he had gone away under circumstances which 

2» Palfrey's Hist, of N. E., Vol. II., 344. 
='Hist. of N. E., Vol. II., 3SO, 351. 
»Mass. Coll. Rec, Vol. II., 85. 



12 

made it next to certain that, had he not departed voluntarily, 
he would have been expelled. 

"Fourteen years he was content to stay away from Massa- 
chusetts ; in the fifteenth he was prompted to go thither. 
The considerate reader may see a significance in the time 
of this movement. The precise day of Coddington's arrival 
from England, with his " Commission," is not known ; but 
it seems to have been when his arrival was expected, from 
week to week, or even from day to day, that Clarke undertook 
his journey. Clarke was a man of influence and authority. 
His personal character, his sacred office, and his newly 
acquired position of Assistant in the government, placed him 
prominently before the people. He was a man of discernment 
and resolution, and felt no reluctance to expose himself to 
personal inconvenience for the furtherance of what he 
accounted a good public object. And he judged well, that, 
at this moment, some striking, practical evidence of the 
hostility of Massachusetts to Baptists, would be efficacious 
to excite his Rhode Island friends to oppose the ascendency 
of Coddington. 

" Clarke took with him two companions, one of whom, he 
could promise himself, would, at the moment, be almost as 
unwelcome a visitor as himself John Crandall was so far a 
person of consideration that we find him to have sometimes 



13 

served, in the General Court of the Colony, as Commissioner 
(or Deputy) for Newport. But Obadiah Holmes was a man 
of more importance. He was minister of the congregation 
which had occasioned the application from Massachusetts to 
Plymouth ;--^ and he had been recently presented by the 
Grand Jury of that Colony for a disorderly meeting with 
others on the Lord's day.-^ The three proceeded together 
to Lynn, ten miles on the further side of Boston." 

Dr. Palfrey continues the narrative, with the introduction 
of such words as " perhaps," " it may easily be believed," 
" as is probable," showing that while he regards his theory 
as probable, he does not present it as a fact which can be 
proved. Indeed, he offers no authority for his conjecture 
beyond what he thinks he finds in the conjunction of events. 
I shall pause only to point out one or two errors in Dr. 
Palfrey's narrative. He says that Clarke left Massachusetts 
" under circumstances which made it next to certain that, had 
he not departed voluntarily, he would have been expelled." 
This language casts an unwarranted reproach upon Clarke 
and his conduct, when in Massachusetts. He himself says : 
" In the year 'ij I left my native land, and in the ninth 
moneth of the same, I, through mercy, arrived in Boston. I 
was no sooner on shore but there appeared to me differences 

=3 Mass. Rec, Vol. III., 173. =^Plym. Rec, Vol. II., 162. 



14 

among them touching the Covenants," etc.^'^ He goes on to say 
that, "seeing they were not able so to bear each with other 
in their different understandings and consciences, as in those 
utmost parts of the World to live peaceably together," he 
himself proposed "for as much as the land was before us 
and wide enough," to seek out some other place. Very 
likely had this peace-loving citizen remained in Massachusetts, 
he would have been banished, even as Roger Williams was; 
but no reproach should be cast upon the record of "the 
modest and virtuous Clarke," as Bancroft-*^ calls him, "whose 
whole life was a continued exercise of benevolence," and who 
"left a name without a spot." Dr. Palfrey has also fallen 
into an error when, in holding up Mr. Clarke's conspicuous 
character as well calculated to call forth the religious hostility 
of the authorities of Massachusetts, he speaks of "his newly 
acquired position of Assistant in the government;" for, accord- 
ing to the official table given by himself,'-^' Mr. Clarke had 
been an Assistant for the two previous years, but in 1651 did 
not hold the office. 

I pass now to Dr. Dexter's account of this matter. He 
shows himself to be the more than willing disciple of Dr. 

s^Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. II., Fourth Series, 23, 24. 
MHist. of U. S., Vol. 11., 64, 65. 
27 Hist, of N. E., Vol. 11., 639. 



i5 

Palfrey. In his dexterous hands Dr. Palfrey's supposition is 
treated as if it was an established fact, and the conjecture 
of his master becomes accredited history. Having alluded to 
the remonstrance which the General Court of Massachusetts 
sent to the General Court of Plymouth in regard to its mild 
treatment of Mr. Holmes,^^ he proceeds :^^ — 

" Some months before this,'^*^ William Coddington, sick 
of the unsettled state of civil affairs, which proved to be the 
result of the unorganized individualism which was then the 
key-note of the Rhode Island plantations, exaggerated by 
the normal fact of the eccentric ani impracticable character 
of many of the individuals who were then naturally attracted, 
or driven, thither, had gone to England, to see if something 
could not be done in the way of remedy. He then obtained 
leave from the Council of State to institute a separate govern- 
ment for the islands of Rhode Island and Conanicut, he 
to be Governor, with a Council of not more than six Assistants. 
In the autumn of 1650 it was understood that he was on 
his way home with this new instrument ; and it was further 
understood that it was Mr. Coddington's desire and intention 
to bring about under it, if possible, the introduction of Rhode 
Island into the Confederacy then existing of the other Colonies, 

28 Backus' Hist., Vol. I., 177. 

""As to Roger Williams, iiSsq. 

^It was, in fact, twenty-one months before. 



i6 

if not absolutely to procure its annexation to Massachusetts. 
Clarke and Coddington had not been on the best of terms 
since the disturbance occasioned by Nicholas Easton i^^ and, 
with many of his Newport adherents, the Anabaptist pastor 
was bitterly opposed to the new-coming order of things. 
When the crisis approached he seems to have felt that a 
little persecution of the Anabaptists — if such a thing could 
be managed — by Massachusetts, might serve an important 
purpose in prejudicing the Rhode Island mind against Cod- 
dington's scheme. An occasion appears, accordingly, to 
have been made, by which the red flag of the Anabaptistical 
fanaticism could be flouted full in the face of the Bay bull." 
And so Dr. Dexter says : " Knowledge of Mr. Witter's case 
reaching Mr. Clarke, a pilgrimage was determined upon for the 
purpose of public sympathy with this person, if not his open 
rebaptism and reception into the Newport fellowship. Such an 
expedition had in itself a promising look. It would lead through 
Boston, yet not far enough beyond it to imperil the desired 
publicity. Yet nothing was neglected which should reasonably 
avail for fullest success. Clarke himself had left Boston four- 
teen years before, to avoid being sent away, and he knew that 
his presence in the Massachusetts must bring him at once 
under the operation of the Anabaptist law of 1644 ; while, as 

'^^ Winthrop's Journal, Vol. 11., 40. 



an Assistant under the Rhode Island government, and as pastor 
of the Newport Anabaptists, he dolibtless felt himself to be 
sufficiently a man of mark to be tolerably sure of being "perse- 
cuted." But for further security against failure he took along 
with him John Crandall, son-in-law of Samuel Gorton ; and, 
also, to make assurance doubly sure, that very Obadiah Holmes 
who, a short time before, had been the occasion of the com- 
plaining letter of the Massachusetts court to that at Plymouth. 
The scheme succeeded perfectly," etc. 

Again I pause to correct a few errors. Dr. Dexter also, 
misled by Dr. Palfrey, speaks of Mr. Clarke as "an Assistant 
under the Rhode Island government," at this time, and makes 
another covert fling at his character when he says he left Boston 
"to avoid being sent away." Moreover, Dr. Dexter seems to 
represent the knowledge of Mr. Witter's case as reaching Mr. 
Clarke just at this crisis, as if it was a happy juncture of events. 
But Mr. Clarke must have been acquainted with his case for 
years, for it had been eight years since Mr. Witter's first 
arraignment for condemning infant baptism, and five years since 
his second arraignment ; and Mr. Clarke could not have re- 
mained uninformed about it until this time, especially if, as I 
think will be clearly shown, Mr. Witter was a member of the 
church of which Mr. Clarke was the pastor. I pass by the 
flippant sarcasm which is apparent in this quotation from 



i8 

Dr. Dexter's book, and, indeed, throughout the whole volume, 
from its significant title — "As to Roger Williams and his 'Ban- 
ishment' from the Massachusetts Plantation" — to its closing 
page ; a sarcasm which is hardly becoming in one who professes 
to be a candid historian, and which, I am confident, will do much 
to prevent the book from accomplishing its object, v/hich was 
nothing less than the reversal of the judgment of history with 
reference to certain men and their relation to great principles 
and struggles in the early life of the Colonies. I can only allude 
to the fact that Dr. Dexter attempts to cover up the real char- 
acter of Mr. Coddington's design by keeping out of sight two 
points ; viz., that, in seeking to remedy the unsettled state of 
things by ambitiously getting the government into his own 
hands, he secured for himself a life appointment as Governor; 
and, secondly, that the election of his Councilors was not valid 
unless confirmed by himself. 

But the principal criticism upon this quotation is to be 
made upon the very remarkable statement of Dr. Dexter that 
"In the autumn of 1650 it was understood that he (Coddington) 
was on his way home with this new instrument ; and it was 
further understood that it was Mr. Coddington's desire and 
intention to bring about under it, if possible, the introduction 
of Rhode Island into the Confederacy then existing of the 
other Colonies, if not absolutely to procure its annexation to 



19 

Massachusetts." It will be noticed that in this theory, sug- 
gested by Dr. Palfrey and warmly advocated by Dr. Dexter, 
the question of time is a very important one. Coddington's sup- 
posed design and its successful accomplishment must have been 
understood sufficiently early before the visit to Mr. Witter, 
to allow Clarke and his companions to make their plans as to 
the best course to be pursued. Dr. Dexter, in his anxiety to 
give time enough, says it was understood that Coddington 
was on his way home with his Commission "in the autumn 
of 1650." Now, it so happens that this was at least six months 
before the Commission was given. Coddington must have 
•reached England soon after the execution of Charles I. and 
the downfall of the British monarchy. The Council of State 
under the Commonwealth held its first meeting Feb. 17, 
1649, in the third week after the beheading of the King. 
Such were, the agitations in England, and such the pressure 
of home business, that two years elapsed before any attention 
wss given to the Colonies; or, in other words, before Cod- 
dington could obtain a hearing. At a meeting of the Council, 
Feb. 18, 165 1, a committee was appointed "to consider of 
the business of plantations." And six weeks later, on April 3, 
1651, by a vote of the Council, Coddington received his 
Commission.32 ^s already remarked, the lime of Coddington's 

== Palfrey's Hist, of N. E., Vol. 1 1., 344, note. 



20 

return to this country is a matter of uncertainty. It was 
probably soon after the visit to Witter. He would have been 
likely to return as quickly as possible after accomplishing 
the object of his visit, and may have brought the news of his 
Commission with him. So that it could not have been under- 
stood "in the autumn of 1650" that Coddington was on his 
way home with his Commission ; and no more could it have 
been understood that it was his "desire and intention" to 
bring about under it the introduction of Rhode Island into the 
Confederacy of the Colonies or its annexation to Massachusetts. 
Setting aside the question of time, which makes strongly 
against the new theory, Mr. Coddington's "desire and inten- 
tion " must be determined by his previous conduct and by 
the nature of his Commission, which he was successful in 
procuring. 

In general, then, it may be said against the theory that the 
visit to Mr. Witter had a political purpose : — 

1. There is not the slightest proof of it, and no authority 
for it whatever. Dr. Dexter cites Dr. Palfrey, and Dr. Palfrey 
cites nobody. 

2. If Mr. Coddington's design was such as this theory 
supposes, and the defeat of which was the object of the visit 
to Mr. Witter, it could not have been understood by Clarke 
and his companions before their visit was planned and made. 



21 



3- If Mr. Coddington's design was such as this theory- 
supposes, there was no necessity whatever for this visit as 
a method of defeating it. The hostility of the authorities 
of Massachusetts to Baptist principles, their intolerance and 
persecuting spirit, it would seem, were too well known already 
to require any new exhibition. The severe law of 1644, con- 
demning to banishment all persons who " shall either openly 
condemn or oppose the baptizing of infants, or go about secretly 
to seduce others from the approbation or use thereof, or shall 
purposely depart the congregation at the administration of the 
ordinance, or shall deny the ordinance of magistracy, or their 
lawful right or authority to make war, or to punish the outward 
breaches of the first table," had been put on the statute-book, 
and kept there in spite of the " Petition and Remonstrance " *^ 
of a few prominent citizens. Thomas Painter, of Hingham, had 
been whipped for refusing to have his child baptized. ^^ Com- 
plaints about these proceedings had been sent over from England, 
and Mr. Winslow had been commissioned to go to England and 
answer them.*^ Mr. Witter himself had been twice arraigned 
before the Court. Mr. Holmes and two others had been brought 
to trial at Plymouth, and when they had been treated leniently 

^'Asto Roger Williams, ii6. 

^ Winthrop's Journal, Vol. 11., 174, 175. 

3= Mass. Col. Rec, Vol. II., 162. 



22 

and bound over, a remonstrance from the Court at Boston had 
been sent " urging the Plymouth rulers to suppress them speed- 
ily." 3<^ And all this was in addition to the treatment which 
Roger Williams had received. Surely, there was no doubt as to 
the spirit and temper of Massachusetts, and no occasion for any 
new demonstration. Moreover, Mr. Coddington had few friends 
and sympathizers in Rhode Island in any scheme he might pro- 
pose. It would have been voted down by an overwhelming 
majority. His statement, when seeking an alliance with the 
Colonies, in September, 1648, that a major part of the Island 
desired it, is not sustained by facts which are known. When 
the character of his Commission was discovered, a request was 
presented to Mr. Clarke, signed by sixty-five of the inhabitants 
of Newport and forty-one of the inhabitants of Portsmouth, 
who, it is said, constituted nearly all the free inhabitants, that he 
would go to England to secure the rescinding of Mr. Codding- 
ton's Commission. 3" Mr. Clarke yielded to this request, and in 
connection with Mr. Williams, who was sent out by Providence 
and Warwick, made such representations before the Council of 
State, that on October 2, 1653, it voted "to vacate Mr. Cod- 
dington's Commission and to confirm their former Charter."^ 

^ Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. II., Fourth Series, 46. Backus* Hist, of the Baptists, Vol. I., 177. 
^' Backus' Hist., Vol. I., 221. 
38 Backus' Hist., Vol. I., 223. 



4. The facts in the case do not warrant the belief that Mr. 
Coddington's "desire and intention" in procuring his Commis- 
sion was to bring Rhode Island into alliance with the four Colo- 
nies, and, much less, under the influence and control of Massa- 
chusetts. He had, indeed, three years before, for reasons not 
fully explained, sought a division of the Providence Plantations 
and a friendly league with the Confederacy. It is possible that 
he may have looked upon the league as the only method, at that 
time, of accomplishing the division on which he seemed bent. 
When, however, annexation to Plymouth was recommended, 
he positively declined any such condition of protection. His 
journey to England was successful. He fully accomplished 
his object. The result disclosed the full extent of his 
design. Rhode Island was separated from Providence and 
Warwick. It became an independent Colony, and he was to 
be its Governor for life, with the powers almost of dictator.^'-* 

'" It should be added that there was little ground for fear that Massachusetts and Plymouth 
would ever consent to a league with Rhode Island, on account of their uncompromising hostility to 
the principles and practices of its inhabitants. The application for such a league had been refused 
again and again. " In truth, these Rhode Island people grew, from the beginning, more and more 
intolerable to the Boston brethren. It was bad enough that they should obstinately maintain tha 
rights of independent thought and private conscience ; it was unpardonable that they should assume 
to be none the less sincere Christians and good citizens, and should succeed in establishing a govern- 
ment erf their own on principles which the Massachusetts General Court declared were criminal. 
Even in a common peril the Massachusetts magistrates could recognize no tie of old friendship, — 
hardly, indeed, of human sympathy, — that should bind them to such men." See Bryant's Popu. 
Hist, of the U. S., Vol. II., 47-49. 



24 

5- Causes quite sufficient are discoverable to account for 
tne opposition to Mr. Coddington. There were religious differ- 
ences between him and the other leaders,*^ which "grew to 
such heat of contention that they made a schism among them." 
Moreover, affairs in England, which were now approaching a 
crisis, had undoubtedly no little influence on the state of things 
in the Plantations. Coddington was a royalist, while Clarke 
and Nicholas Easton and other leaders were republicans, and 
the republican party was the dominant one.'^^ And still further, 
there was a very general determination to resist the division of 
the Providence Plantations, and to stand by the original Char- 
ter. Coddington's ambitious scheme was enough, in itself, to 
arouse the most bitter and determined opposition. 

6. If Mr. Clarke and his companions had planned their 
visit for a political purpose, viz., to draw forth the intolerant 
spirit of the Massachusetts magistrates, and had been so anxious 
to succeed in it, as they are represented to have been, it is per- 
fectly amazing that they did not go directly to Boston, or even 
to Salem, in one of which places they would be much more 
likely to find the " Bay bull "kept, than in such a quiet, obscure, 
out-of-the-way place as Swampscott, which was two miles, even, 
from Lynn. That this place should have been the terminus of 

*" Winthrop's Journal, Vol. 1 1., 40. 

<• Arnold's Hist, of R. I., Vol. I., 222. Bryant's Popu. Hist, of the U. S., Vol. II., 105. 



25 

their journey, is utterly inconsistent with any such motive as is 
ascribed to them. Their supposed shrewdness seems to have 
failed them in the most vital point of their plan. Having deter- 
mined to seek persecution, they took the surest method to 
escape it. 

7. We are told distinctly, by what ought to be good and 
sufficient authority, that the object of the visit was to minister 
Christian sympathy to an aged brother in the church. The 
visit was made to Swampscott, because this brother whom they 
came to comfort lived in Swampscott. This statement rests upon 
the authority of the Newport Church Papers, on which Dr. Dexter 
attempts to throw discredit, in order to break down their testi- 
mony. ^^ He says, " Backus, indeed, professes to quote [Vol. I., 
2i5]^3 fj-om the Newport Church Papers," which looks very like 
a charge against Backus of willful deception. And then he 
adds, " But one cannot help thinking that those ' Papers ' must 
have been written long after the date of the occurrence, '^ "" " 
and that their author confused the order of events." That those 
Papers are altogether trustworthy, will be acknowledged when 
it is remembered that they were "gathered by the painstaking 
John Comer, in 1726," and " were derived from Samuel Hub- 
bard and Edward Smith, both members of the Newport Church, 

*- As to Roger Williams, 120, note. 
« New Ed., Vol. I., 178. 



26 



and contemporary with the events narrated." ■** At any rate, 
this testimony may be accepted as valid until some evidence to 
the contrary is presented more substantial than the unreasona- 
ble and preposterous conjectures of Dr. Palfrey and Dr. Dexter. 
8: Finally, the purpose of the 'visit to Mr. Witter, as thus 
declared and uniformly accepted to be the true one, is entirely 
sufficient to account for it, and harmonizes with all the circum- 
stances. Here was on old man, far removed from his brethren 
in the church, and needing Christian sympathy and spiritual 
consolation, but by reason of age and infirmity unable to make 
the long journey to Newport. Dr. Dexter is disposed to sneer 
at Witter's age and inability to make the journey. But Witter 
was within three years of threescore and ten.*^ He is spoken 
of as being disabled by infirmity such as "advanced age"*'' often 
brings with it ; and, moreover, as being blind.*' The journey 
from Lynn to Newport for such a man, in those days, was no 
slight undertaking. It was very suitable that the church should 
remember him in his loneliness and feebleness, surrounded by 
those who were hostile to his faith, and probably soon to die. 
It is quite possible that Mr. Clarke and his companions may 



" Article by Rev. C. E. Barrows in Bapt. Quarterly, Vol. X., 360. 

*•■ Savage's Gen. Diet., Vol. IV., 620. 

<« Backus' Hist., Vcl. I., 17S. 

■" Clarke's 1\\ Newes from New England, in Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. II., Fourth Series, 27. 



27 

have thought that in visiting so remote a place as Swampscott, 
they would escape all observation. However that may have 
been, they passed quietly through Boston, and having timed 
their journey so as to reach Witter's house on Saturday evening, 
there they lodged. It was a brave, loving, Christian deed, in 
which can be traced no shrewd policy other than the prompting 
of a Christlike sympathy, and no defiant purpose other than a 
courageous willingness to endure perilous exposure in order to 
minister to one of Christ's imprisoned and needy disciples. 
And when Dr. Dexter says, that " when Clarke published his 
version of all this in England, he was careful to declare that one 
purpose which he had in view in it all, was to make known 
'how that spirit by which they [the Massachusetts authorities] 
are led, would order the whole World, if either brought under 
them, or should come in unto them,''*'^ — that is, how they would 
treat Rhode Island Baptists, were they to be annexed to their 
Colony," '*^ — he makes an utterly unwarranted, and, it is difficult 
not to say, a willfully false, inference from Clarke's language. 
For the language was not intended to apply at all to the visit 
and its motive, but only to the published account of the visit, 
and even then contains no such meaning as Dr. Dexter inter- 
prets into it. Clarke was intending to show simply how he and 
his companions were treated, and how all who differed from the 

^' III Newes, etc., 27. ^''As to Roger Williams, 122. 



28 



Massachusetts authorities religiously would be likely to be 
treated if they should fall into their hands. We have here an 
illustration of how an unresisted bias may disqualify a historian 
for his high ofhce, and how a weak theory may seek to bolster 
itself up by an amazing deduction. 

I shall now consider more briefly the two remaining points ; 
viz., the alleged criminal conduct of Mr. Witter's visitors, and 
the punishment which they received. 

Having arrived at Mr. Witter's on Saturday evening, they 
thought it best " to worship God in their own way on the Lord's 
day " in Witter's house. Clarke says, in his narrative of what 
occurred : ■'^'^ "Finding, by sad experience, that the hour of 
temptation spoken of was coming upon all the World (in a more 
eminent way), to try them that are upon the Earth, I fell upon 
the consideration of that Word of Promise, made to those that 
keep the Word of his Patience, which present thoughts, while 
in Conscience towards God and good will unto his Saints, I was 
imparting to my Companions in the house where I lodged, and 
to 4 or 5 Strangers, that came in unexpected after I had begun, 
opening and proving what is meant by the hour of Temptation, 
what by the Worcf of his patience, and their keeping it," etc. 
But the presence of these heretics had been discovered. The 
scent of heresy was marvelously acute. The quiet service in 

=0Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. II., Fourth Series, 27, 28. 



29 

that remote place was suddenly interrupted by the entrance 
of two constables with a warrant, signed by Robert Bridges, for 
the arrest of " certain erronious persons, being Strangers." 
The warrant, of course, was issued before the service was held ; 
therefore, the only offence thus far of Mr. Clarke and his com- 
panions was, that they were there. Having politely requested 
the officers to allow them to complete the service, and being 
denied the favor, they offered no resistance to the arrest, and 
were taken to the "ordinary," for safe keeping. In the after- 
noon they were compelled, against their protest, to go to the 
public service, Mr. Clarke saying, " If thou forcest us unto your 
Assembly, then shall we be constrained to declare ourselves 
that we cannot hold Communion with them." This compulsory 
attendance at "meeting," in spite of the warning of what they 
would be forced to do, seems to have been too small a matter to 
be noticed by Dr. Dexter. After some hesitation and consulta- 
tion on the part of the constables, the three strangers were 
taken to the meeting. What occurred there is told by Mr. 
Clarke, as follows: "At my first stepping over the threshold 
I unveiled myself, civilly saluted them, turned into the Seat I 
was appointed to, put on my hat again, and so sat down, opened 
my Book and fell to reading. Hereupon, Mr. Bridges, being 
troubled, commanded the Constable to pluck off our hats, which 
he did, and where he laid mine, there I let it lye, until their 



Prayer, Singing and Preaching was over. After this, I stood up 
and uttered myself in these words, following : * I desire, as a 
Stranger, if I may, to propose a few things to this Congregation, 
hoping, in the proposall thereof, I shall commend myself to your 
Consciences to be guided by that wisdom that is from above, 
which being pure, is also peaceable, gentle, and easie to be 
intreated. "^^ 

When Mr. Clarke attempted to proceed, and to give the 
reasons for his apparently discourteous conduct in not joining in 
their worship, he was commanded to silence, and the prisoners 
were remanded to the "ordinary." Their opposition to going 
to this public service, and their irreverent and discourteous 
conduct while there, are to be accounted for on the ground of 
that intense and narrow conscientiousness which characterized 
the times. It prevailed on both sides, among Puritans and 
come-outers, alike. Whatsoever was not of faith, in their judg- 
ment, was sin. Whatsoever was not according to the visible 
order of the Lord, as they understood it, was of the Devil. 
They could not even appear to fellowship and indorse it, or to 
show any sympathy with it. It was this spirit that prompted 
Mr. Witter to use the language for which he was arrested, in- 
1646, "that they who stayed whiles a child, is baptized, doe 

'■■' Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. II., Fourth Series, 29. 



31 

worshipp the Dyvell " and " broake the Saboath." "^ It was this 
spirit that prompted the Simple Cobbler of Agawam to say, 
" Polypiety is the greatest impiety in the world." " He that is 
willing to tolerate, will, for a need, hang God's Bible at the 
Devil's girdle." ^3 Possessed of this spirit, Clarke and his com- 
panions could not, in conscience, be present at this Sunday 
afternoon service, though forced there by the officers of the 
law, without giving expression to their disfellowship and disap- 
probation. I am not justifying their conduct ; I am only 
accounting for it. 

It appears from the language of the sentences of the Court 
that the prisoners must somehow have been allowed so much 
freedom on Monday that they visited Mr. Witter's house again 
and held a service, at which they celebrated the Lord's 
Supper.^ This, apparently, aggravated their offence. They 
were sent to prison in Boston by the mittimus of Mr. Bridges, 
under date of Tuesday, July 22d. 



0= Lewis and Newhall's Hist, of Lynn, aog. Dr. Dexter (iig), referring to the first arrest of Mr. 
Witter, in 1643, says he " had become so inspired with the genius of Anabaptism as to call infant bap- 
tism 'a badge of the whore.'" Similarly strong language was used by Governor Winthrop, as 
quoted by Dr. Dexter himself (28, note 109). Such language was no more born of the genius of 
Anabaptism than of the genius of Puritanism. It was simply the emphatic language of the times, 
affected by the phraseology of the Scriptures, and has frequent illustrations in the religious literature 
of the Colonies. 

sa Oliver's Puritan Commonwealth, 193. "Clarke's 111 Newes, etc., 3J, 44. 



Dr. Dexter seems very confident that at some time during 
the visit, and previous to the observance of the Lord's Supper, 
Mr. Witter was " rebaptized."^^ He cites as authority the 
statement of Lewis and Newhall's History of Lynn (230), that 
Clarke "rebaptized Mr. Witter;" also the language of the mitti- 
mus and the language of Mr. Clarke's sentence; and, finally, the 
fact that "Witter was presented at the Salem Court in the 
November following, 'for beinge rebaptised,' [Salem Court Rec. 
25, 9 mo., 1651]." 

The question does not seem to me to be a very important 
one as affecting Baptist polity. It was perfectly competent for 
Mr. Clarke, if he was deputed by the church at Newport to 
visit and baptize Mr. Witter and administer to him the com- 
munion, to do so. The only question is, how long prior to the 
celebration of the Lord's Supper was Mr. Witter baptized ? or, 
in other words, was he baptized at this visit or at some previous 
time "} The opinion that he was baptized at this visit, rests, I 
think, upon an entire misapprehension of the language of the 
mittimus and of the sentences of Clarke and Holmes. The 
History of Lynn, by Lewis and Newhall, published in 1865, 
does, indeed, say that Clarke " rebaptized Mr. Witter." But 
the History of Lynn, by Alonzo Lewis alone, published in 1829, 
which was the basis of the later work, makes no mention of the 

•^ As to Roger Williams, 121 ; also 120, note 470. 



33 

baptism of Mr. Witter, the author probably thinking that the 
record would not warrant it.'^'^ 

The language of the viittitnus is very significant, and 
undoubtedly shows exactly how much foundation there is 
for the opinion that Mr. Witter was baptized at this time. 
In it Clarke, Holmes and Crandall, were to be made to 
answer for the following offences, viz. : For being " at a 
Private Meeting at Lin, upon the Lord's day, exercising among 
themselves ; " " for offensively disturbing the peace of the Con- 
gregation at their coming into the Publique Meeting;" "for 
saying and manifesting that the church of Lin was not consti- 
tuted according to the order of our Lord, &c., for such other 
things as shall be alleged against them concerning their 
seducing and drawing aside of others after their erroneous 
judgments and practices, and for suspition of having their hands 
in the rebaptizing of one, or more, among us. "°' There was, 
then, simply and only a suspicion of a baptism of one or more 
persons, for which not the slightest evidence was produced or 
sought for, and for which they were never called to answer. 
The magistrates, in the exercise of their judicial watchfulness 
against the awful sin of Anabaptism, suspected there had been 

''^It reads (97), "They went to the house of William Witter, of Swampscott, where Mr. Clarke 
began to preach. On hearing this, Captain Bridges, the magistrate, sent two constables," etc. 
''"Ill Newes, etc., 30, 31. 



a baptism ; and Dr. Dexter, in his desire to make as good a 
showing as possible for his theory, suspects that that suspected 
baptism was the baptism of Mr. Witter. 

The sentence of Mr. Clarke contains this charge : that he 
had " administered the Sacrament of the Supper to one excom- 
municate person [who Dr. Dexter suspects was Holmes], to 
another under admonition [about whom Dr. Dexter seems to 
have no suspicion], and to another that was an Inhabitant of 
Lin and not in fellowship with any Church." "Who was this, 
if it were not Witter.?" triumphantly asks Dr. Dexter,^^ 
thinking thereby to prove that Witter was not a member of 
the Baptist church in Newport, and, therefore, could not have 
been previously baptized. But the language, if it refers to 
Witter, as Dr. Dexter suspects, proves nothing ; for if Mr. 
Witter had been a member of the Baptist church, his church 
relationship would not have been recognized by the magistrates 
of Massachusetts, and the language of this sentence would 
have been regarded as true on their lips. 

The sentence of Mr. Holmes appears at first sight to contain 
the charge of having baptized one or more persons at this visit. 
But on examination it is evident that the magistrates, in order 
to make the case as strong as possible, united with his present 
offence previous offences of which he had been guilty, and 

'* As to Roger Williams, 120, note 470. 



determined to punish him accordingly. The sentence begins 
thus: "Forasmuch as you, Obediah Holmes, being come into 
this Jurisdiction about the 21 of the 5th M., did meet at one 
William Witter's house at Lin, and did hear privately (and at 
other times being an Excommunicate person did take upon 
you to Preach and to Baptize) upon the Lord's day, or other 
days," etc. It will be remembered that the Massachusetts 
authorities remonstrated with Plymouth for treating Mr. 
Holmes so leniently for his grievous misdemeanors at Reho- 
both. They now had the criminal in their own hands, and 
felt themselves called upon to make amends for Plymouth's 
leniency, and to see that justice was meted out. Criminals 
of such a character must not go unpunished. Not only his 
present transgression, but the sins of "other times," were 
charged against him ; and now that he was in their jurisdiction 
they would make him suffer for sins committed out of their 
jurisdiction. So reasoned these guardians of the new world's 
faith and peace, who looked upon themselves as God's ministers 
of justice, for their neighbors as well as for themselves. 

Moreover, when Dr. Dexter says that Mr. Witter was pre- 
sented at the Salem Court in the following November "for 
bcinge rebaptized," as if this was a fresh offence, he only 
gives half of the charge against him. The full indictment was 
" for neglecting discourses and beinge rebaptized." ^^ The one 

•'■"Lewis and Newhall's Hist, of Lynn, 231. 



36 

sin had certainly been continued for years, although no notice 
had been taken of it before ; and the other sin, it is altogether 
likely, dated back a long period ; but the recent visit of Rhode 
Island Baptists made it necessary that a fresh demonstration 
should be made against the aged and obstinate offender. This 
indictment when taken as a whole, as it ought to be, has no 
weight whatever in determining the time of Mr. Witter's 
baptism. 

If Mr. Clarke did baptize Mr. Witter at this time, it is 
exceedingly surprising that neither the mittimus nor the sen- 
tence contained the positive charge. As it is, we find only 
a stispicion of one or more persons being baptized. Moreover, 
neither Mr. Clarke nor Mr. Holmes makesany allusion to any 
baptism as occurring during the visit, as it seems natural they 
would have done if such had been the fact ; so that it seems 
more than probable that there was no baptism whatever, either 
of Mr. Witter or any one else, and that the suspicion of the 
magistrates was born of their own fears or wishes. This 
conclusion is fully indorsed and established, so far as it 
concerns Mr. Witter, by the testimony of the visiting brethren 
that he was a Baptist brother, and by the distinct statement 
of the Newport church papers '"^' that it was a brother in the 

'" I am indebted to Rev. C. E. Harrows, of Newport, for a copy of tlie record : viz., "Three 
of the brethren, viz., Mr. Jolin Clarke, Pastor, Ubadiah Holmes and John Crandall, who were 
taken up on the lord's da\ , July aolh, 1651, at the house of one of the brethren whom they went to 
visit, viz., William Witter, in the town of Lyn." 



37 

church whom the three brethren Clarke, Hohncs and Cran- 
dall went to visit. This opinion has been universally accepted. 
Backus speaks of him as "a. brother in the church.""^ Arnold 
calls him "an aged member." "^^ Dr. Palfrey says, "brother in 
the church of Baptists as he was."*^" We know that more than 
eight years before, he was in open antagonism with the Puritan 
church, and it is altogether likely that he had sought baptism 
and congenial church fellowship long before 165 1. The only 
position that is in harmony with the facts and the testimony, 
and that can be reasonably defended, is that Mr. Witter had 
been previously baptized (when, we have no means of ascer- 
taining), and that he was, at the time of the visit, in actual and 
full fellowship with the Newport Baptist church. 

I come now to the concluding and most distressing part of 
this transaction ; viz., the punishment which was inflicted upon 
these three offenders, and especially upon Mr. Holmes. Dr. 
Dexter says: "The next week, on Thursday, — 31 July — 10 
Aug., 165 1, they had their trial." "^ Mr. Clarke says : " In the 
forenoon we were examined ; in the afternoon, without produc- 
ing either accuser, witness, jury, law of God or man, we were 
Sentenced."'^'' During the examination Governor Endicott 



<" Hist, of Baptists, Vol. I, 178. "As to Roger Williams, lai. 

62 Hist, of R. I., Vol. I., 234. o-"Ill Newes, etc., 31. 

«=HUt. of N. E.,Vol. II.,3Si. 



charged them with being Anabaptists ; to whom Clarke answered 
that he was "neither an Anabaptist nor a Pedobaptist nor a 
Catabaptist." The Governor lost his temper, and said they 
"deserved death, and he would not have such trash brought 
into their jurisdiction ; "^^ also insinuating that they had influ- 
ence over weak-minded persons only, and daring them to hold 
a discussion with the ministers. This challenge Mr. Clarke 
promptly accepted, and endeavored to bring about the proposed 
discussion. The magistrates seemed at first to consent; but, 
after some delay, it came to naught. The excitement at the 
time of the so-called "trial" must have been intense ; not that 
it would take much "to put John Endicott in a towering passion 
at any time,"''' but even John Wilson, the pastor, struck and 
cursed Holmes, saying, "The curse of God or Jesus goe with 
thee," because Holmes had meekly said, " I blesse God I am 
counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus." 

The sentence.of the three men varied in severity. Crandall 
was sentenced to pay five pounds, or to be well whipped ; 
Clarke to pay twenty pounds, or to be well whipped ; and 
Holmes to pay thirty pounds, or to be well whipped. Crandall's 
punishment was the lightest, because he was the least prom- 
inent, and was only associated with the others. Holmes' 
punishment was undoubtedly the heaviest, because he had been 

•'"HI Newes, etc., 33. '" Bryant's Popu. Uist. of U. S., Vol. II., 108. 



39 

excommunicated from the church at Rehoboth, and, havino- 
been guilty of baptizing, had been dealt lightly with by the 
Court at Plymouth. Dr. Dexter seems to have fallen into 
another error when, in painting the character of Mr. Holmes, 
he gets it a little blacker than the truth will warrant. He says 
he was twice excommunicated, once at Salem, and, again, at 
Rehoboth, having, "in some way, joined himself to Mr. New- 
man's church." '^8 Mr. Holmes says of himself that he was 
"recommended" when he removed from Salem to Rehoboth, 
and walked with the church in the latter place "for four years' 
time ; " that then he separated from the church, with seven or 
eight others, on account of the unchristian course of a minority 
in the church, including the pastor, in a matter of discipline, 
and that it was not until "a long space of time" that he was 
baptized, and afterward excommunicated.*^^ 

The fines imposed upon Crandall and Clarke were paid by 
"tender-hearted friends, without their consent and contrary 
to their judgment,"™ though the matter has an entirely 
difterent and untruthful aspect as represented by Dr. Dexter. "^ 
He seems to have caught the spirit of Mr. Cotton, to whom, 
in connection with Mr. Wilson, a letter was sent by Sir 
Richard Saltonstall, one of the first magistrates of Massa- 

'•" As to Roger Williams, Ji8. 70]ii Newes, etc.. 38, 42, 43. 

«• 111 Newes, etc. 53. 54- -1 As to Roger Williams. 121. 



40 

chusetts, who was then in England, rebuking them for their 
"tyranny and persecution in New England, as that you fine, 
whip and imprison men for their consciences. * * * We pray 
for you and wish you prosperity every way; hoped the Lord 
would have given you so much light and love there, that you 
might have been eyes to God's people here, Ad not to practice 
those courses in a wilderness which you went so far to pre- 
vent." "^ Mr. Cotton's reply is a most remarkable document 
in justification of this whole transaction ; in which both reason 
and truth were sacrificed in defence of the Puritan magistrates. 
In it he says Mr. Clarke "was contented to have his fine paid 
for him, whereupon he was released."''^ And Dr. Dexter 
represents him, notwithstanding his eagerness to suffer perse- 
cution according to his theory, as quietly acquiescing in this 
conclusion of his visit, and "very willing to leave for home." 
Neither of these statements accords with the truth. 

There were those, too, who would have paid the fine of 
Mr. Holmes ; but, to use his own words, he "durst not accept 
of deliverance in such a way." His conscience compelled him 
to refuse the friendly offer, as did also the consciences of the 
others, lest thereby he should appear to confess himself a 
transgressor, and worthy of the penalty imposed upon him. 

• "Hutchinson's Coll. of Original Papers, 401 : quoted by Backus, Vol. II., 198. 
" Hutchinson's Coll. of Original Papers, 403-406 ; Backus, Vol I., 200. 



41 

It seems, certain, from the narrative, that the authorities were 
willing to accept the payment of the fines of Crandall and 
Clarke, though made by others, without their knowledge and 
consent, and set them free ; but that in the case of Holmes, 
he being the greatest offender, they manifested no such 
willingness. Had he consented to the payment of the large 
fine, very likely they would have released him ; but as he 
refused to allow it, they made an exception in his case, and 
held him to the letter of the penalty, and inflicted upon him 
the cruel punishment of thirty stripes, "^ which was the penalty 
for the crimes of adultery, rape and counterfeiting, '■' and was, 
within ten stripes, the maximum number allowed by law. ''' 

The account of the cruel whipping which Holmes suffered at 
the hands of the Boston magistrates, is given in very touching 

«The character of Cotton's letter, alluded to above, may be seen from the following extract, 
in which he seeks to throw the responsibility of the whipping upon Holmes himself: "As for his 
wliipping, it was more voluntarily chosen by him than inflicted on him. His censure by the Court 
was to have paid (as I know) thirty pounds, or else be whipped : his fine was offered to be paid by 
friends for him, freely,'but he chose rather to be whipped; in which case, if his suffering of stripes 
was any worship ofGod at all, surely it could be accounted no better than will-worship " To which 
Governor Jenks, of Rhode Island, replies: "Although the paying of a fine seems to be but a small 
thing in comparison of a man's parting with his religion, yet the paying of a fine is the acknowledge, 
ment of a transgression ; and for a man to acknowledge that he has transgressed, when his conscience 
tells him he has not, is but little, if anything at all, short of parting with his religion." Backus, Vol. 
I., 200. Cotton seems to have been incapable of understandmg that there could be a great principle 
involved in Holmes' unwillingness to consent to have his fine paid, and sees in it only a spirit of 
willful obstinacy, which chose the whipping rather than to be released. 

••■IllNewes ttc, 61, 62. '"HI Newes, etc., 70. 



42 

Christian language in his letter to the brethren in London. " 
Having been kept in prison until September, he was led forth 
to his punishment, cheerfully trusting in God and in the right- 
eousness of his cause, and taking his Testament in his hand, as 
being the source of his comfort and the substance of his faith. 
When he had been stripped of his clothing, he neither assisting 
or resisting, and telling them that for all Boston he would not 
give his body into their hands thus to be bruised upon any 
other account, yet upon this he would not give the hundredth 
part of a wampan peague"^ to free it out of their hands, and 
that he made as much conscience of unbuttoning one button as 
he did of paying the thirty pounds, the executioner was com- 
manded to "doe his office." 

"As the man began to lay the stroaks upon my back," 
wrote Mr. Holmes, "I said to the people, 'though my Flesh 
should fail and my Spirit should fail, yet God would not fail ; ' 
so it pleased the Lord to come in and so to fill my heart and 
tongue as a vessel full, and with an audible voyce I brake forth, 
praying unto the Lord not to lay this Sin to their charge, and 
telling the people. That now I found he did not fail me ; and, 
therefore, now I should trust him forever who failed me not ; for 
in truth, as the stroaks fell upon me, I had such a spirituall 
manifestation of God's presence, as the like thereunto I never 

•'111 Newes, etc., 45-52. '"The sixth part of a penny. 



43 

had, nor felt, nor can with fleshly tongue expresse ; and the out- 
ward pain was so removed from me, that indeed I am not able 
to declare it to you ; it was so easie to me that I could well bear 
it, yea, and in a manner felt it not, although it was grievous, 
as the Spectators said, the Man striking with all his strength 
(yea, spitting on his hand three times, as many affirmed) with a 
three-coarded whip, giving me therewith thirty stroaks. When 
he had loosed me from the Post, having joyfulnesse in my heart, 
and cheerfulnesse in my countenance, as the Spectators observed, 
I told the Magistrates, ' You have struck me as with Roses ; ' and 
said, moreover, ' Although the Lord hath made it easie to me, 
yet I pray God it may not be laid to your charge.' " 

Such is the plain, pathetic story of his sufferings, as told 
by Holmes himself, in which he sought to exalt the wonderful 
grace of God which sustained him, and manifested in a remark- 
able degree the spirit of a Christlike forgiveness. So severe 
was his punishment that the. hearts of the spectators were 
moved to a sympathy which they could not repress, though 
the expression of it put them in peril of like punishment ; and 
a former acquaintance visited him, when taken back to prison, 
and, as he said, "poured oyl into my wound and plaistered 
my sores." That it was a cruel punishment, inflicted with 
unmitigated severity, no candid reader of the narrative will 
question for an instant. Governor Joseph Jenks, of Rhode 



44 

Island, writing in the first third of the last century, so that 
he must have received his information from contemporaries 
of Mr, Holmes, thus describes it: "Mr. Holmes was whipped 
thirty stripes, and in such an unmerciful manner that in many 
days, if not some weeks, he could take no rest but as he lay 
upon his knees and elbows, not being able to suffer any part 
of his body to touch the bed whereon he lay."'^ In order to 
show the impression which the narrative has made on unbiased 
minds, a few testimonies will be quoted. Callender, in Sprague's 
Annals, says, "The sentence of the law was executed upon 
him with the utmost severity."^'' Arnold says he was "cruelly 
whipped," ^^ and Bancroft, that he was "whipped unmerci- 
fully." ^^ Oliver speaks of him as "being livid with the bruises 
of the lash;" 83 and Gay, in Bryant's Popular History of the 
United States, says: "Such was his spiritual exaltation that 
when the ghastly spectacle was over, and his clothes were 
restored to him, to cover his scored and bloody back, he 
turned to the magistrates standing by, and said, ' You have 
struck me as with Roses.' "^^ 

I turn now to a very remarkable note in Dr. Dexter's vol- 
ume. It is numbered 47S, and reads thus : " Arnold thinks he 

'" B.ickus* Hist, of the Baptists, Vol. I., 193, note I. '-Hist, of U. S., Vol. I., 450. 
'"Annals of Bapt. Pulpit, 23. '•''The Puritan Commonwealth, 223. 

8' Hist of K. I., Vol. I., 235. *^ Vol. II., no. 



45 

was 'cruelly whipped.' [Hist. R. I., Vol. I., 235.] But Clarke 
says, ' It was so easie to me that I could well bear it, and in a 
manner felt it not ; ' and that he told the magistrates after it was 
over, ' You have struck me as with Roses.' [Ill Newes, etc., 22.] 
Dr. Palfrey suspects the executioner had orders ' to vindicate 
what they thought the majesty of the law, at little cost to the 
delinquent.'" [Hist. N. E., Vol. II., 353. J^^ 

Passing by the strange mistake of Dr. Dexter, in that he 
makes Clarke speak instead of the sufferer. Holmes, in the quo- 
tations from " 111 Newes," etc.,^*^ let us notice the real meaning 
and purpose of the note. Dr. Dexter would have his readers 
understand that Holmes' punishment may not have been very 
severe, after all ; that it may have been little more than a farce, 
an apparent vindication of the majesty of the law ; and he 
throws back the responsibility of the insinuation upon his great 
master. Dr. Palfrey, who, he says, "suspects" that it may have 
been so. Having found as many as nine fatal errors and unfor- 
tunate omissions (which, whether designed or undesigned, are 

^ As to Roger Williams, 121. 

*«The attention of Dr. Dexter has been called again and again to this mistake, as well as to the 
untruthful character of the whole note, by Rev. Henry S. I'.urrage, editor of " Zion's Advocate," 
Portland, Me., and also by others in prominent religious and secular journals. Two tardy .ind 
unsuccessful attempts have been made by the author to correct a mistake which seems so easily recti- 
fied, both of them, however, leaving it in a more unsatisfactory condition than at first. But as yet no 
acknowledgment has been made of the erroneous character of the entire note and the unfortunate 
misrepresentation which it contains. 



46 

unpardonable) within half as many pages of Dr. Dexter's vol- 
ume, we feel now compelled to verify his quotations, even when 
he quotes from Dr. Palfrey. Turning now to Dr. Palfrey's His- 
tory, we find this allusion to the whipping of Mr. Holmes : 
" When he relates that the scourging which he endured ' was so 
easy to him that he could well bear it, yea, and in a manner felt 
it not,' and that he told the Magistrates 'You have struck me as 
with Roses,' the reader ventures to hope that the executioner 
had been directed by his superiors to vindicate what they 
thought the majesty of the law, at little cost to the delinquent." 
The phrase used is, it will be noticed, "the reader ventures to 
hope." To be sure, to ordinary readers such a hope is consider- 
able of a venture, in the face of the facts as narrated, which both 
Dr. Palfrey and Dr. Dexter must have had before them. If it 
was only a humane " hope," it might be allowed to pass unno- 
ticed. But the "hope "of Dr. Palfrey, unwarranted as that is, 
is magnified and perverted into a " suspicion " in the process of 
quotation by Dr. Dexter ; and when he seeks to ground that 
suspicion upon the touching words of the patient sufferer, and 
to ascribe the effect of the sustaining grace of God to the 
supposed grace of the executioner or the magistrates, he is 
guilty of a palpable and gross misrepresentation. Such a note 
as "478" in "As to Roger Williams," the intent of which is so 
manifestly uncandid, and which offers a monstrous distortion of 



47 

the truth for the truth, would be sufficient to destroy confidence 
in any volume or in the honest purpose of its author to write 
history fairly. 

The Puritan magistrates were in no mood to play a farce. 
They were dead in earnest. They were bent on tragedy. In 
their judgment Holmes was guilty of the most serious crime. 
Governor Endicott had told him he deserved death, and the 
meek John Wilson had "struck and cursed" the prisoner 
in holy indignation, in "the exquisite rancor of theological 
hatred." The executioner is represented as " striking with all 
his strength (yea, spitting on his hand three times, as many 
affirmed)." Warrants were issued for no less than thirteen 
persons who were unable to repress their sympathy with 
Holmes at the time of the whipping.*' The most of them, how- 
ever, escaped. Two only, John Spur and John Hazel, who 
had taken the sufferer by the hand as he was led away from the 
whipping-post, were arrested; and it is more than intimated that 
there would have been more whipping had not the executioner 
taken himself out of the way, so that he could not be found, 
having probably had enough of the bloody work.*''' There is 
only one possible conclusion to be accepted; viz., that never 
was sentence of court executed more literally, never did execu- 
tioner do his work more faithfully. 

"Backus' Hist, of Baptists, Vol. I., 194. «» Backus' Hist., Vol. I., 197. 



48 

It has not been pleasant to dwell at such length on these 
painful details, and to portray again the persecutions which our 
fathers endured for the sake of conscience and of truth. But 
justice should be rendered to their memories, and we who are 
the lineal heirs of their religious faith and the inheritors of bless- 
ings purchased by their sorrow and blood, may reasonably be 
expected to protect their fair names from unwarranted and 
sacrilegious assault. Better that this whole transaction should 
be passed by in silence, as it was by Captain Johnson, in his 
"History of 1654," by Mr. Morton, in his "New England 
IMemorial of 1669," by Mr. Hubbard, in his " History of 1680," 
by Dr. Cotton Mather, in his " History of 1702," and by Gov- 
ernor Hutchinson, in the first two volumes of his History, than 
that, for the sake of justifying the persecutors, the motives of 
the persecuted should be maligned, and their sufferings be made 
light of. The name of Roger Williams, the acknowledged 
apostle of religious toleration and liberty of conscience, is 
engraven too high among the names of the great benefactors 
of mankind to be dimmed or brought low by any modern assail- 
ant. John Clarke, the learned physician and able pastor of the 
Newport Baptist church, whose admirable confession of faith ^•' 
might be accepted to-day, with little change or improvement, 
by any New Testament church, was, in some respects, the peer 

^•'111 Newes, etc., 70 sq. 



49 

of Roger Williams, though less widely known and honored.''^' 
In defending him and his two companions (one of whom, Mr. 
Holmes, was his honored successor in the pastoral office for 
thirty years) ''^ from unrighteous aspersions, may this paper 
fulfill its humble purpose. 

■"' Rev. Jolin Callender says of Dr. Clarke : " He was a faithful and useful minister, courteous 
in all the relations of life, and an ornament to his profession, and to the several offices which he sus- 
tained. His memory is deserving of lasting honor for his efforts toward establishing the first govern- 
ment in the world which gave to all equal civil and religious liberty. To no man is Rhode Island 
more indebted than to him. He was one of the original projectors of the settlement of the Island 
and one of its ablest legislators. No character in New England is of purer fame than John Clarke." 
(See Sprague's Annals of Bapt. Pulpit, 26.) 

"' Sprague's Annals of Bapt. Pulpit, 23. 



